Poteau Hotel Tax Passes; Shady Point School Bond Fails

City of Poteau voters gave a hospitality tax a thumbs-up Tuesday, while Shady Point Public Schools voters declined a bond extension to fund renovations, according to unofficial election results.

The results remain unofficial until certified by the county election boards Friday afternoon.

Poteau voters approved 433-389 a 5 percent sales tax to be levied on hotel and other temporary lodging properties. According to Poteau Mayor Jeff Shockley, the revenue will be used to bolster city recreation and parks amenities as well as to promote the city’s hospitality and tourism industry.

The Poteau Area Business Alliance of operators of the city’s eight hotel properties opposed the tax, expressing concern that by bumping up room costs, it would deter visitors from staying at Poteau hotels.

Asked for the second time to extend a $175,000 bond issue to finance renovation and maintenance projects aimed at increasing student safety and cutting utility costs, 60 percent of Shady Point School District voters said no. The proposition failed 45-30.

To make the request more palatable to district voters, school officials reworked their original request so that the requested bond extension focused solely on renovation and maintenance and no longer included items like vehicles or buses, Superintendent Bruce Gillham said Monday.

“Over the years, we’ve had to use more and more of our funding on education, which is a good thing, but it’s left less and less for maintenance,” Gillham said.

Having failed twice, school officials will rework their proposal for another try this fall, shortening or lengthening the payback terms, whatever most appeals to district residents, he said.

In the Bokoshe School Board Office 2 runoff election, Nikki Carter prevailed over Gerald Lee Conway Jr. by a vote of 77-68.

In the Sallisaw Ward 2 city commissioner runoff, challenger Ro Poindexter prevailed over incumbent Josh Bailey by a vote of 34-24.